Air conditioning and distributing system



Feb. 14, 1961 J. H. YOUNG 2,971,747

AIR CONDITIONING AND DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed July 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. vvves /7. 3 0 BY QM? MM ATTORNEY Feb. 14, 1961 J. H. YOUNG 2,971,747

AIR CONDITIONING AND DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed July 11, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 EXHA yST DAM ER j RETURN AIR FAN RETURN IR DAMPER MAXIMUM OUTDOOR AIR DA PER O wJ g FILTERS U 0 RAIR DAM R PREHEAT COIL FIG.2

BY Rave) @mam United States Patent AIR CONDITIONING AND DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM James H. Young, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to H. Robertson Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 11, 1957, Ser. No. 671,156

7 Claims. (Cl. 257-295) This invention relates to a multi-story building structure having a novel air conditioning and air distributing system.

The invention has for a principal object to provide a novel and improved air conditioning and air distributing system which is characterized by structure which enables each story of the building to be individually air conditioned and which enables the conditioned air from one story of the building to be diverted or partially diverted and distributed from said one story to one or more adjacent stories of the building in the event of a failure of the conditioning system at said one or more adjacent stories or in the event of an increased or decreased demand for conditioned air at said one ormore stories of the building. 7 7

Another object of the invention is to provide an air conditioning and air distributing system wherein provision is made for distributing to each story of the building a supply of conditioned air through at least several cells of a cellular metal floor of the building from individual package air conditioning units communicating with the several cells of the floor at each story of the building, and wherein provision is made for selectively diverting conditioned air from one package unit to floor cells on one or more additional stories of the building not normally being serviced by said package unit.

With these general objects in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the air conditioning and air distributing system for a multi-story building and in the structure and arrangement of the parts thereof hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view in perspec tive illustrating the preferred form of the present air conditioning and air distributing system embodied in a multi-story building; and

Fig. 2 is a schematic arrangement of an individual package air conditioning unit provided at each story of the multi-story building.

In air conditioning systems, as usually installed in multi-story buildings, the practice has been to locate all of the air conditioning equipment, including the heating and cooling apparatus as well asfans or blowers of large capacity, in the basement or at one location in the building and to distribute hot and cold air through risers from which the air is distributed through ducts to individual outlets at each story of the building. More recently it has been proposed to provide a number of individual smaller air conditioning units, each complete but of relatively small capacity, at a plurality of stories of the building and to serve each of a small number of stories from each such air conditioning unit. Preferably, each story of the building may be provided with its own individual air conditioning unit which may, as above stated, include heating, cooling and air moving equipment, such as fans 2,971,747 Patented Feb. 14, 1961 and blowers, together with electric mtors and controls and other required accessory equipment. Such air conditioning units are usually referred to as package air conditioning units.

The present invention is directed to an air conditioning system of the type above referred to wherein package air conditioning units are employed for serving individual or a small number of stories adjacent the package air conditioning units, and in its broader aspects contemplates a system of the type described in which provision is made for interconnecting the several package air conditioning units by a duct system in order that the hot or cold air being delivered by any selected package air conditioning unit and distributed through distributing conduits to outlets at individual or a small number of adjacent stories may be diverted to the distributing conduit system at one or more selected other stories not being served by such selected package conditioning units. In the preferred form of the invention the conditioned air delivered by each package air conditioning unit may be distributed to the outlets at the stories of the building being served by such unit through air conducting cells forming components of a cellular metal load supporting floor at the stories.

Referring now to the drawing illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, 10 represents a plurality of metallic cellular load supporting floors of a multi-story building. The metallic cellular floors may and preferably are of the type illustrated and described in the United States patent to R. P. Goemann, No. 2,729,429, dated I anuary 3, 1956. The floors 10 are supported upon the usual beams which form the structure framework, not shown, of the building. At least some of the load supporting floors may comprise metallic cellular floors having a series of transversely connected cellular units, each series preferably comprising relatively wide hot and cold air carrying cells 12, 13 and a plurality of, preferably four, smaller potential wire carrying cells 14 disposed intermediate cells 12, 13. As illustrated in the drawing, a plurality of such series of cells are erected to form a continuous load supporting air andwire distributing floor for the building. Wire carrying cells 14 enable the various types of electrical service to be carried to any part of the floor and through suitable outlets to provide all types of electrical service throughout the rooms within the building.

As herein illustrated a plurality of header ducts 16, 18 are erected transversely beneath the cellular floor 10, as illustrated, and are connected to the air carrying cells 12, 13 by suitable connecting fittings indicated at 20. In

practice one of the air carrying cells 12 may be utilized.

for hot or warm air and the other cell 13 for cold air. As illustrated, the hot and cold air carrying cells at each story of the building are supplied from the package air conditioning unit diagrammatically shown at 25 and which may be of any known or preferred constructions of such units now on the market. One such package air conditioning unit is schematically indicated in Fig. 2 wherein outside air which may be preheated and filtered is drawn in by a supply fan indicated at 21 which supplies air through one path past a heating coil 22 and into the header duct 16 to be delivered to the hot air floor cells 12 and through a second path past a cooling unit 23 and into the header duct 18 to be delivered to the cold air floor cells 13. It will be understood that for summer cooling operation both ducts 16, 18 may be supplied with cool air. such units are well known and of themselves form no part of the invention, further description is believed unnecessary. The conditioned air to heat or cool the desired portions of the building at each floor may be distributed from the air carrying cells 12, 13 in the manner described Inasmuch as the details of construction of 2 V i 3 in said Goemann patent to suitable outlets or mixing boxes, not shown, from which the conditioned air may be discharged into the building.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, an individual air'conditioning unit 25 is provided-at each story ofthebuilding', herein shown as positioned betweenthe floors, each unit being provided with risers '24, 26 extending from the top thereof and connected to the undersides of their respective header ducts 16, 18 by which the air is distributed through the connecting fittings 20 to the air carrying and distributing floor cells 12, 13.

Inaccordance with the present invention the package air conditioning units 25 supplying conditioned air to their respective floors are interconnected by a manifold system so as to enable one unit to supply conditioned air to other adjacent floors in the event of failure of the air conditioning units at such adjacent floors. As herein shown this may be accomplished by interconnection of the header ducts 16, 18 of each floor, the illustrated manifold system including vertically extended risers 28, 3!} herein shown as connected between extensions 32 of the header ducts 16, 18 at each floor.

For the purposes of clarity, the package air conditioning units '25 are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 starting from the lower story of the building, and the floors at each story of the building may be lettered A, B, C'and D. As shown, air conditioning unit 1 is connected by hot and cold risers 24, 26 to header ducts 16, 18 respectively which are connected in turn to the hot and cold air carrying cells 12, 13 of floor A. The conditioned air from the" air conditioning unit 1 is in this manner distributed through risers 24, 26, ducts 16, 18 and air carrying cells 12, 13 to and through suitable outlets, not shown, in the various rooms on floor A of the building to thereby condition the same with hot or cold air or a mixture of both. Air conditioninguuit 2 is connected in the same manner to the rooms on floor B and so on until all of the floors and rooms thereon are connected to an individual package air conditioning unit 25 located adjacent each floor of the building.

In order to control the distribution of the conditioned air to the floors at each story from its respective conditioner 25, dampers 36, 38, 40 and 42 are provided in header ducts 16, 18 at thefloors of the various stories of the building between risers 24, 26 and manifolds 28, 30. During the-normal operation of the present airconditioning system, dampers 36, 38, 40 and 42 are disposed in a closed position, as shown, and substantially all of the conditioned air discharged from each of the package air conditioning units is distributed to the floors adjacent thereto to condition the rooms thereon.

In the operation of the present air conditioning system whenever one of the package air conditioning units 25 fails to operate or to provide an adequate'supply of conditioned air, conditioned air from one or moreof the other package air conditioning units located adjacent the floors of the otherstories-ofthe building may be diverted or partially diverted and distributed through the aforesaid manifold system to the floor services by the inoperative package unit 25. For example, if air conditioning unit 2 fails to operate, therebyicausing a failure inthe air conditioning, heating or cooling on floor B, dampers 36 in header ducts 16, 18 of floor A may be partially opened to permit. some of the conditioned air from conditioner 1 to be distributed upwardly through risers 28, 3% to header'ducts'16, 18at floor B. Dampers 38 may then be opened fully, and the conditioned" air may be distributed through header ducts 16, 18"and air carrying cells 12, 13 of floor B to thereby at leastpartially condition the same until such time as 'thedefective package air conditioning unit 2 ,canbe repaired; It will be apparent that the distribution of the, conditioned air from one or more of-the package conditioners 25 maybe diverted'orpartially diverted by proper,- adjustrnent ofthe dampers 36, 38, 40 and 42-to any one or more of the,

floors at the difierent stories of the building to condition the same.

Another important feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the entire air conditioning system within the building may be properly balanced in a simple and efiicient manner by adjustment of the dampers in the manner described. For example, if in the winter months of the year the upper stories of the building normally require more heat than the lower stories the dampers-can be adjusted to divert and distribute a portion of the conditioned air to the stories requiring more heat-from the other stories of the building until the conditioning system is in balance. The system may also be utilized toprovide balanced summer cooling at all stories of the building.

From the foregoing description itwill be apparent that the present invention provides a novel and improved highly efficient air conditioning system embodying a package air conditioning unit at each floor of a multi storybuilding wherein, the package-air conditioning units are interconnected by a manifold system and damper control means whereby failure of one or more-of the individual package air conditioning units may; be temporarily remedied by diversion of the air from an adjacent operating unit so that such failure will not serious- 1y affect the entire air conditioning service withinthe building;

The 1 present invention substantially eliminates the 1 need for the large and expensive system of ducts which are required in prior air conditioning systems now found on'the market and therefore results in a substantial reduction in the cost of the air conditioning system in a multi-story building. Another advantage of the present system resides in the fact that the package units may be replaced when they become worn out by entirely new units in a simple and economical manner, whereas replacement .of the large central conditioners of the prior systems would result in the loss of air conditioning service for a substantially long period of time and could only be replaced at a great expense.

While the present invention has been described as embodying av duct system of the character illustrated and described in the United States patentto-R. P. Goemann, No. 2,729,429, dated January 3, 1956', for distributing conditioned air, fromthepackage conditioning units to outlets in the rooms of the building, other duct systems may be utilized without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Having thus described'the invention, what is claimed 1. Ina multi-story building, an air conditioning and distributing structure comprising an individual air distributing duct system for each story of the building, individual independently operated package air conditioning units at selected stories of-the building, each individual package unit being connected to the duct system of its story, means normally free of conditioned air for inter connecting the air distributing duct systems of'the stories of the building, and means for controllingthe distribution of conditioned air from the duct systems of selected stories of the building to the duct systems of other selected stories of the building through said interconnecting means,

2.; An air conditioning and distributing structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said interconnecting means comprises amanifold system normally free of conditioned air and wherein said control means comprises means. for selectively opening said manifold system to distribute; conditioned air from the duct systems of selected stories of the building to the duct systems of other selected stories of the building.

3. An air conditioning and distributing structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the air distributing duct system at each story comprises a metallic cellular load supporting figmhaving spaced air carrying cells and header supply ducts connecting the independently operated package units with such cells.

4. An air conditioning and distributing structure as defined in claim 3 wherein the header supply ducts are provided with extensions, and the interconnecting manifold means includes risers connected between the extensions of said header supply ducts.

5. In a multi-story building, an air conditioning and distributing structure comprising an individual air distributing duct system for each floor of the building, an individual independently operated packaged air conditioning unit operatively connected to its individual air distributing duct system at each floor, manifold means normally free of conditioned air interconnecting the duct systems between successive floors, and normally closed damper control means between the air conditioning units and said interconnecting manifold means adapted to be selectively opened to permit distribution of conditioned air between selected air distributing duct systems at the different floors through said interconnecting means.

6. In a uulti-story building, an air conditioning and distributing structure comprising an individual air distributing duct system at each story including a metallic cellular load supporting floor having longitudinally extended spaced air carrying cells and transversely extended header supply ducts connected to said air carrying cells, an individual independently operated package air conditioning unit at each floor operatively connected to its header supply ducts, vertically aligned risers normally free of conditioned air extended between the header supply ducts at each floor and adapted for interconnecting the individual independently operated air distributing duct systems between successive floors, and normally closed damper control means disposed in said header ducts between successive package air conditioning units and said risers arranged to be selectively opened to permit intercommunication and distribution of conditioned air between selected air distributing duct systems at the diflerent floors whereby some of the air from one or more selected package units may be diverted through said risers to supply air to one or more selected air distributing duct systems.

7. An air conditioning and distributing structure as defined in claim 6 wherein the interconnected air distributing duet systems are designed to carry hot and cold air.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,254,185 Newton Aug. 26, 1941 2,273,992 Robb Feb. 24, 1942 2,729,429 Goemann Jan. 3, 1956 2,796,740 McFarlan June 25, 1957 

